Married to Malfoy
by AngelNia96
Summary: The War has ended and the Dark Lord is dead. Hogwarts has reopened for another year and invited back the Seventh Year students. But what happens when the Seventh Years are given a class to help promote Inter-House unity? Especially when one of the pairings involves being married to Malfoy for the Year.
1. Welcome Back to Hogwarts

September the 1st, to a muggle it was just another day, but for any person with magical abilities in Britain it was the day they return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The day when they all head to Kings Cross Station in London and pass through the barrier to Platform 9 3/4. Hermione Granger, also known as the brightest witch of the age, and one third of the Golden Trio, was among them, returning to complete her missed Seventh Year. Her parents accompanied her to the station and bid her farewell as she passed through the barrier. It was almost 11 meaning that Hogwarts Express would be departing soon, and Hermione hurried to board the train "'Mione!" a voice called just as a bunch of red hair crashed into her, meters away from the doors.

"Hey Ginny," Hermione said as she hugged the younger girl.

"Ginny hurry up the train will be leaving soon!" a redheaded boy called.

"Well, Ronald, if that's how you greet your friend," Hermione laughed as she and Ginny walked over to her friends.

"Hey 'Mione," Ron said, giving Hermione a one-armed hug.

Even though Ron and Hermione shared a kiss in the Chamber of Secrets during the battle they were not together. Any feelings they thought they had towards the other dissolved with the kiss. The pair acknowledged that it happened in the heat of the moment and agreed that it would not change or strain their friendship.

"Ok all of you talk on the train, go, go, go," Molly Weasley interrupted ushering the four of them onto the train. "Hello Hermione, it's good to see you, hope to see you for Christmas."

As she was already on the train steps, Hermione paused and turned to look at the woman who was like her second mother. "Wouldn't miss it," she smiled, and the clock struck 11.

The Hogwarts Express started moving and Hermione turned back around, continuing behind her three friends as they went in search of a compartment.

"Isn't it great to be going back?" Hermione asked after they had found one and sat down.

"Hermione you are the only person excited for an extra year of school," Ron said. "No matter how much we all like Hogwarts."

"Ron, you aren't allowed to complain," Hermione said, "You didn't even go to school last year. So, for you this will just be making up for missed time."

"Hermione's right, we were out hunting Horcruxes and trying to not get killed. I think that just about guaranteed that we'd have to come back for another year," Harry responded.

"Think about those of us who were stuck in school all year and now have to come back to take it again," Ginny concluded. "Though with the teaching we were under, we might as well have not been there at all."

"Though you still advanced, Gin," Harry said and Ginny just shrugged in response with a smug smirk on her face.

Ron made a face but didn't argue knowing that his friends and sister were right. Once the topic of returning to Hogwarts was out of the way, and the sweets from the trolley were bought, Ginny went to go find their other friends and the trio went on to talk about other things. They start with their summer since they hadn't been together at all for the first time since they met seven years ago. Ron shocked his friends by announcing that he worked all through the summer, helping George run the joke shop. Hermione went to track down her parents. It took some time to find them, but eventually she did. After she restored their memories, they travelled across Europe.

Harry had spent his summer with the Dursleys. When the others heard that they demanded more details. Harry chuckled and started his story. "It was about a week after the war ended. I was at Grimmauld Place, a bit lonely with just Kreacher and I really, when an owl came to the window. I thought it was from one of you at first, but the writing on the envelope was unfamiliar. So I opened it. Imagine my surprise to find that it was from Dudley asking how I was and if I could come for a visit...

_Harry debated responding, trying to think of why exactly he got this letter. Was it some sort of a trick? He must have pondered over it for days before deciding that the best way to find out was to respond and go. So, he packed his bags and was off. He considered apparating to the down the street and walking to the house, but then decided to go straight to the front gate of the address that Dudley had included in the letter. In no time, the front door opened and there stood Dudley Dursley, not looking much different than the last time Harry had seen him. "Hey Harry," Dudley said as he walked down the pathway._

"_Hi," was all that Harry could say, as he was at a loss for words as Dudley took his bag from him._

_That's when Petunia Dursley appeared in the doorway. It was clear to Harry that she hadn't known he was coming. Harry was preparing for her to yell and tell him to leave, but she did neither, just standing there frozen staring as the two boys looked back at her. Then she was running towards the boys and without warning she threw her arms around Harry capturing him in a tight embrace._

"You're joking right?" Ron asked, after he stopped choking on the Licorice Wand he had been eating.

"Nope, it was weird. All my life she has despised me. Never showing me a single act of kindness, as if I wasn't related to her by blood and then that happened. I didn't even know how to react."

"Ok, well go on," Hermione urged.

"I warn you it gets a bit more shocking...

_When Petunia finally pulled back, Harry saw the tears shining in her eyes as she put her hands on her nephew's face. "You're alive," she smiled. "You're okay."_

"_Yeah Aunt Petunia, I'm okay," he said as she hugged him again and this time he hugged her back. Once they finally made it inside of the house, Dudley showed him upstairs and where he would be staying. "Dudley, why did you write me?" he asked, wanting to get it off his mind._

"_Because of mum," he answered simply._

"_What?"_

"_She missed you. I mean I did too, but she missed you more, not that she ever admitted it. She needed to see you and know that you were okay. When we went our separate ways, I'd hear her crying at night. At first, I thought I was just dreaming it, but it kept happening every few days. Then one night I heard her going downstairs, I crept out and followed her. She sat in the living room looking through a box of old stuff, yours. There were pictures and a few other things you had growing up. I did my best to comfort her, and after that I didn't hear again, but I know she still cried. Then when dad died…"_

"_Uncle Vernon is dead? When? How?"_

"_After Christmas, he had a heart attack."_

"_I'm sorry Dudley."_

"_It's ok. Mum and I have been alright. But I could tell she started to miss you more. She couldn't bring herself to write you, so I did it for her."_

"I hadn't thought that I'd spend all summer with them, but it just happened. We went out and did things together. For the first time in eighteen years I felt like I was part of the family." Ron and Hermione were left speechless by the end of the story.

The compartment door slid open and in walked Ginny followed by Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom. In no time at all the compartment was full of chatter and laughter. As Hermione watched she thought about how great it was that they could do this again, no worries about what dangers they may have to face during the year. The war was over, and they could all just breathe freely. Time flew by and they were getting closer to the school. The group of friends all change into their school robes and gather their things as the train comes to a stop at the platform. There were a few more carriages than usual to accommodate all the returning Seventh Years. Almost every student could now see the Thestrals pulling the carriages as they had all watched as a friend, family member, acquaintance or even enemy was killed last year in the battle.

Everything after was as it normally was, the students arrived at the school and filed into the Great Hall where all the teachers were already seated at the Head Table. Once the students were all seated the Sorting Hat was brought out on its stool as the first years lined up waiting to be sorted. As always, the Hat started off with its song, only this year there was no warning of peril and danger, just having new beginnings and being united. When all the first years were sorted and settled at their tables, Professor McGonagall rose from the Headmaster - or rather the Headmistress' seat and the room fell silent. "Welcome back students," she said. "Before we begin I'd like to extend a special welcome to last years Seventh Years including the Head Girl, Hermione Granger."

A wave of applause passed through the Hall as Hermione stood, now proudly displaying her Head girl badge, which she had kept hidden the whole time. "Wow 'Mione why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked.

"It was a secret."

"And," McGonagall continued, "The Head Boy, Draco Malfoy."

The Slytherin table cheered as their "prince" stood and there were sprinkled claps around the rest of the room from a few other people attempting to be civil, Hermione included.

"We have a few new members joining our staff. Professor Flintworm will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Gillwood will be taking over the position for Transfiguration and Professor Rose will be teaching a new subject for the Seventh Years. Now as usual..."

Slowly the older students begin to tune out as she listed the restrictions and out of bound places around the castle, as Dumbledore had many times before her. Once she finished, the feast appeared on the table and everyone began eating. It seemed that everyone was tired, and dinner was seemingly short before they all headed off to their rooms for the night.

Hermione parted ways with her friends as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room and she went to the Heads' common room. Once she entered, she headed straight up to her room, too tired to deal with anything, including Draco Malfoy who was already seated on the couch.


	2. The New Class

**So I had accidentally posted this with Chapter 1 in the first few hours the story was up. So if you read this already sorry, and if you haven't enjoy.**

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When Hermione woke up, she realized that she had fallen asleep in her clothes. She got out of bed and head in the bathroom to get ready for the day. After taking a quick shower, she got dressed in her white blouse and black school skirt, which came down about mid thigh, opting to wear knee high socks instead of tights under it. One of the best things about being a Seventh Year in her opinion was that the school gave them some slack on a lot of things including uniform. She tied her Gryffindor tie around her neck and then started the task of tackling her bushy mane. Hermione had already mastered the tact to taming the mess but couldn't be bothered to do it for school. And since she hadn't braided in her hair before she fell asleep all she could be bothered to do at that moment was brush out the knots and day-old curls and pull her hair back into a ponytail.

She went back into her room and grabbed a clean robe, putting it on to hide her clothes. Though she enjoyed the leeway given preferred to let people continue to see her bookworm side, she was comfortable with that. She grabbed her book bag and left the Heads' Quarters, heading to the Gryffindor Tower to meet up with her friends. Just as she got in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, Harry Ron and Ginny climbed through and the four of them went down to the Great Hall together.

As they entered, they saw Fay Dunbar waving them over and made their way there. Hermione and Ginny sat between Fay and Parvati Patil, and the boys sat on either side of Dean Thomas on the other side of the table. Ron, as usual, wasted no time piling food onto his plate. Hermione poured herself a cup of pumpkin juice and grabbed a piece of toast. As she took a sip of her juice, she looked around the hall. "I didn't notice last night, but a lot of Slytherins didn't come back this year," she observed looking at the half empty table.

"No Goyle and Nott," Harry said.

"Parkinson is missing too," Ginny added.

"Don't say it like it's such a bad thing," Ron said. "If only Malfoy had stayed away too, this would've been a perfect year."

"Ron you can't say that," Hermione said. "While he is an insufferable git, Malfoy is the Head Boy, so mind what you say before our House has your head."

As the students ate, Professor McGonagall stood to say that all Seventh Years were to go to the Room of Requirements for their first class. This confused most of the students a bit, why the Room of Requirements? But nevertheless, after breakfast all the Seventh Years headed up to the room and stood outside unsure what kind of room they really required. Then the door swung open to reveal Professor Rose. "Come in, come in," she said beckoning them all inside. "Now I know that you are all wondering why we are in the Room of Requirements, that's because it's the only room in the school that can be equipped with what we need for this class."

"And what exactly is this class?" Naesha Morey asked.

"This is Marriage and Family," she announced causing half of the students in the room to choke on their saliva.

"Why?" Anthony Goldstein, a Ravenclaw student asked.

"Your Headmistress believes that it is time that all of you got to know each other better and learned to get along," Professor Rose answered. "You will be paired with a student from another House and they will be your "spouse." Each couple will be in a cottage located on the school grounds." Groans and protests were heard going across the room. "In addition, you and your partner will also parent a child that will be created by a spell. The school will supply the necessities for the child, such as a cot, pram, nappies formula and clothes. One of the main reasons for this is that the children will age quickly and have accelerated growth for the first part."

"How quickly?" Ginny asked.

"The children will go through age transformations every three months. At the end of the first three months the babies will look to be about 10 months, so that you will get to the joys of experiencing your baby's firsts."

"And how will this affect our other classes?" That question, of course, came from Hermione. "I mean we can't be expected to take them to class with us it's hardly a proper environment for babies."

"Of course not. For the first few months you would be leaving the babies with me while you attend class and if you wish you may take them during lunch, but you all must come and get them before dinner. Today, you are excused from your classes so that you have a day to spend with your spouse and child. Now I will read you your partners, when I call your names please go and stand together to the side of the room." The room falls silent as the students wait to hear who their partners are. "Naesha Morey and Justin Finch-Fletchley." At the sound of their names, the Gryffindor girl and Hufflepuff boy go off to the side. "Andre River and Lynnette Jones. Alex Webster and Ginny Weasley. Ronald Weasley and Hannah Abbott." And on the list went until, "Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."

"WHAT? NO!"

"I am not getting partnered with that know-it-all!" Draco said.

"I'm not thrilled about it either Malfoy," Hermione snapped back. "Professor, is there some way that we can switch partners please."

"Sorry Miss Granger, that is not my decision. The pairs were made by the Headmistress," Professor Rose said.

"They were what!" exclaimed not only Hermione, but Harry, both Weasleys and a few others around the room.

"There has to be a mistake. Professor McGonagall wouldn't pair those two together," Harry said. "They'll end up killing each other. More specifically Hermione will kill Malfoy."

"As if Potter, she'd have to be able to get to me first" Draco said smugly.

"It may have taken three years for me to punch you but, keep going at this rate and you won't even make it to the holidays. Do you really want to keep pushing it?" Hermione said.

"Okay," Professor Rose said holding up her hands, "Once I finish reading out the partners and you are dismissed then you two may go and discuss your...concerns with the Headmistress. But until then Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger please go and stand at the side of the room."

Begrudgingly the two students stand together with the rest of the couples. Less than five minutes later they were dismissed from class and Draco and Hermione were among the first out of the room both heading to Professor McGonagall's office. Hermione said the password to the office and the two students made their way up the steps. "Aren't you two supposed to be starting your project now?" McGonagall asked when the two of them enter the room.

"That's why we're here Professor," Hermione said. "Did you make some mistake with the partners?"

"No, Miss Granger, I didn't," McGonagall responded.

"But me and Malfoy? Of all people Professor."

"I'm sure you mean 'of all houses' since I am a Slytherin," Draco interrupted.

"No, unlike you I can see passed House. What I really meant was why am I paired with the spoiled, arrogant, pretentious-" she was cut off as McGonagall cleared her throat and Hermione took a breath. "Point is I'd take just about any Slytherin in our year over you."

"Are you two done? Because I believe you did ask me a question. The two of you are this year's Heads, therefore you got partnered together for this project and class."

"So, we can't switch partners." It was more of a statement than a question.

"No, sorry Miss Granger."

The two teenagers groaned, and Draco was the first to exit. "Miss Granger," McGonagall said as Hermione turned to leave.

"Yes professor," she answered turning back around.

"I know that working with Mr. Malfoy isn't an ideal situation for you, but I ask that you try to make the best of it."  
"I don't know about making the best of it, but I'll try not to smother him in his sleep," Hermione said making the Headmistress chuckle. "I won't allow him to bring me down in this project, or class."

The Headmistress nodded and dismissed Hermione. When she descended the stairs, she saw Hermione, Harry and Ginny waiting for her. "So…" Ginny asked.

"No luck," Hermione sighed. "As the Heads we have to be partnered together."

"And you have to live with him too," Ron said.

"She already had to that," Harry said.

"Yeah, but now she actually has to interact with him."

"Not helping stupid," Ginny hissed at her brother.

"This year is going to be hell," Hermione groaned.

"Just try not to let him get under your skin too much," Harry said. "But don't hesitate to punch him again if he deserves it."

"On another note how was Ron the only one out of the four of us that didn't get paired with a Slytherin?" Hermione asked as the group walked off.

"McGonagall probably knew that my brother couldn't handle a Slytherin Girl," Ginny said. "Hell, he can't even handle the ones from his own house."

The others laughed as Ron scowled at his sister. "So, did you guys go to your cottages before you came to wait for me?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, we had to," Harry said. "The cottages remain locked until both partners are present and touch the door, that's when the spell activates, and the child appears."

"But the cottages are so cute, you'll love it 'Mione," Ginny said. "It may not make up for the fact that you have to live there with Malfoy, but you'll still love it."

The friends continue to prattle the whole way until they got to the makeshift village. "The names are on the door. Yours and Malfoy's is down there," Ginny said pointing about 3 houses down.

As if on cue Draco appeared at the bottom of the stone path. "You sure took your time," he said.

Hermione gave him a look before saying, "McGonagall wanted to talk to me."

"Would you hurry up I would like to go inside."

"Would you like me to walk slower?" she asked. "Because I can."

To prove her point, she slowed her pace drastically. He glared at her making her laugh quietly as she said goodbye to her friends. Draco stood there tapping his foot impatiently when she reached the door. "Let's just get this over with," Hermione said.

They both placed one hand on the door, and it swung open. Draco pushed passed her inside and she followed behind. It was a quaint little place and Hermione decided to look around. The front door was facing the living room and Hermione could see a couch and a chair next to the stone fireplace. There was a wall separating it from the kitchen where there was a small table against the wall, a highchair placed beside it, which wouldn't be used for at least another month or so.

Returning to the living room, Hermione saw that Draco had pretty much taken up residence on the couch doing absolutely nothing and decided to go upstairs to get away from him. The first door on the landing was open and she looked in. The room was pink with a window overlooking the back of the house in the corner of the room next to the widow was a rocking chair. A chest of drawers in the other. On the left side of the room was a baby cot. Hermione walked over to it and looked inside, where a little baby girl peacefully lay on her back, fast asleep. Hermione reached down and gently touched her soft brown curls and her eyes fluttered open. "Hey baby girl," Hermione said leaning over the cot, and the picked up the baby along with the blanket that she was settled in. "Look at you pretty girl. Baby Bella, that fits, you look like an Isabella."

Hermione continued to coo over the little baby until Draco's voice called out to her from down the hall. She groaned before going to see what he wanted, the baby girl still in her arms. Though she didn't need to ask why he called her as she entered the doorway of the other room. The room was big and very spacious due to the lack of things in it. There was a chest of drawers close to the door and a dresser not far from that. There was even a bookshelf in the corner of the room. The problem was the bed; there was only one. "You've got to be kidding me," Hermione said. "That is not happening. I'm staying in Bella's room."

"Bella?"

"Yes, Isabella," she said gesturing to child in her arms. "I didn't think that you'd mind that I named her."

"I really don't care, Granger."

Hermione sighed. "Of course, you don't," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she turned to walk out the door. "If it's not about "the great" Draco Malfoy, then why would you care? It's not like this is your project too."

Hermione went downstairs with Isabella to make her a bottle, figuring that she would be hungry soon. Hermione noticed the bassinet that hadn't been there before, which must have been brought in by one of the Hogwarts elves. She carefully lay Isabella down in it before going into the kitchen. The kitchen was fully stocked so there would probably be days when they wouldn't have to go to the Great Hall. She began searching the cupboards for the formula and bottles. It didn't take her long and began fixing the bottle. As if on cue, Bella began to cry, rushing Hermione out of the kitchen. She lifted the crying baby into her arms once more, placing the bottle in her mouth, as she sat on the couch. A minute later Hermione watched as Draco descended the stairs and walked right out of the door. _I should've known, it's all on me_, she thought, shaking her head and turning her attention back to the girl in her arms.

In another part of the castle Professor Rose was talking with McGonagall in her office. "Aside from Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, how did the students react to their partners?" the Headmistress asked.

"Not horribly, they weren't all happy with the choices especially most of the pairings involving someone from Slytherin House," Professor Rose said. "But Minerva was pairing Mr. Malfoy with Miss Granger really the best choice. From what I heard today the two of them are complete opposites and they don't get along at all."

"While the second point may be true, they are not complete opposites, it's only the decisions leading up to this point that make them seem that way. Both students are driven and exceptionally hard workers, and they would go to great lengths for the people they care about. Draco Malfoy has been unbearable towards Hermione and her friends throughout their years here, but I know that Miss Granger is capable of forgiving him for that. I also know that even Draco is capable of change and spending time around Miss Granger may just be the push he needs, as she challenges him when no one else will."

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**Second chapter done! And don't forget to let me know what you guys think xx**


	3. A Long Day

"Take the carrier or my books!" Ginny snapped. "Because the alternative would be bat wings on your face, a pig's tail and puss filled boils covering your body. Take your pick."

"I take it the first night as a family went well," Hermione said as Alex took Ginny's books allowing her to carry the carrier up the stairs.

"Yeah...just great," she said, sarcasm evident in her voice. "So, where's your 'husband?'"

"Good question. My guess would be on his way to Potions by now, probably stopping to torture some poor first year in the hall," the other Gryffindor girl answered as she levitated her books so that she could properly carry Isabella's carrier up the stairs. "I dealt with her all day and night and then this morning he had the audacity to tell me that her crying kept _him_ up."

"I can't believe we have to be "married" to those idiots. We're going to end up killing them before this project ends," Ginny growled.

"Speaking of that, a little warning about the bloody ring magically appearing on my finger would've been nice Gin," Hermione said gesturing to the gold band on her ring finger with the engraving Malfoy on it. "I nearly had a heart attack when I saw it."

The pair of girls got to the Seventh-floor corridor and thought of the Marriage and Family classroom. The door appeared and they entered. The room was bigger than it had been the day before and cots were lined around the room. A few other students were in the room dropping off their babies, and some cots were already taken by babies that had been dropped off earlier. "Professor Rose, will you be alright looking after all of these children?" Hermione asked as she placed Isabella in an empty cot close by, she had counted eight kids already in the room.

"Don't worry about that Miss Malfoy, I'll be fine," the professor said. "And I have some help coming."

Hermione turned to Professor Rose shocked to hear the woman refer to her as a 'Malfoy', and shuddered. Being referred to as a Malfoy was not something the Gryffindor had expected or was okay with. She turned to her daughter one more time, and looking into her grey-blue eyes, Hermione felt her earlier frustration melt away. "Alright baby girl, mama will see you later," she said as she swept a stray hair out of the baby's face and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Then she and Ginny were out of the door chattering away as they headed down to the dungeons for Potions. Once there, the two girls sat together at the empty table in the front. They watched as other class members filed in, including Ginny's partner Alex Webster. A majority of the class was seated by the time Professor Slughorn walked in. "Okay Seventh Years, as part of your Marriage and Family class you are required to sit with your partners if they are in this class," he said.

Ginny and Hermione both groaned audibly. "You've got to be kidding me," Hermione mumbled. "The last thing I want is to sit with Malfoy."

"I completely understand," Ginny said turning around. "Someone must not like Webster at all. He can't keep his mouth shut and if I hear one more stupid remark from him, he's done."

With that said, Ginny huffed and got up out of her seat moving to sit beside her partner. Hermione turned to look at Draco sitting in the back and glared because he was making no effort to move at all, as if he expected her to get up and go back there. _He's sadly mistaken if he thinks that I am going anywhere_, she thought as she turned back to the front of the room. "Miss Malfoy," Slughorn said making Hermione grit her teeth, "why aren't you and Mr. Malfoy sitting together?"

Was every teacher going to call her Miss _Malfoy _all day? That was not an acceptable thought to the Gryffindor, and she was going to remedy that. "First Professor, if I must carry the Malfoy name can we please keep my own name at the end? And to answer your question, as the situation stands right now, my darling 'husband'" the word made her gag, "didn't lift a finger yesterday or this morning to help with his daughter," she said in a sickeningly sweet and calm voice, then she turned to look at Draco once more. "So I don't think it should be too much trouble for him to get off of his lazy butt and sit over here," she snapped.

There was a collective breath intake from about half of the students around the room and a few of the Slytherins were wide-eyed. "Oh, uh...very well, Mr. Malfoy..." Slughorn said gesturing to the empty seat beside Hermione.

Gritting his teeth Draco gathered his things and got up, walking to the front of the room and dropping them onto the table then himself on the stool beside Hermione. "Happy?" he grumbled.

"Not in the slightest," Hermione responded coolly.

The class was brewing a Hiccoughing Solution and Hermione then realized how much more difficult working around Draco was going to be. Continuously getting in her way or taking the ingredients that she had been reaching for, it all slowed down her progress noticeably and as a result it was not as perfect as she would've liked. Hermione was so annoyed with it all that she made a quip about Draco trying to make sure his potion was deemed more than just merely "passable" this time.

"Shut it Granger," Draco growled.

"Did I hit a nerve?" she asked, feigning concern. "The last time you made this potion it was to try and impress Slughorn, which it didn't. And now here you are sabotaging my attempts at a good grade."

Thankfully for everyone in the room Professor Slughorn intervened before things got out of hand between the pair. Once the students were dismissed, Hermione could not get up fast enough. She gathered her things and hastily exited the room, navigating the corridors of the dungeon with ease as she tried to put as much distance between her and her partner as possible. She slowed down once she reached the fourth floor feeling that at that point there was no way that she'd run in to him now.

Just in front of her she caught sight of a girl with curly blond hair. "Lynnette," she called causing the other girl to turn around.

"Hey 'Mione, where are you headed?" Lynnette asked her.

"Seventh floor, I've got Arithmancy," she answered.

"So do I!"

"Great! Though I wish it was the first class today. That would have made so much more sense: dropping off Isabella, staying on the same floor then going to another class. Rather than my hike up all these stairs to go down to the dungeons only to come all the way back up here."

"What's that saying, 'going an extra mile'? They took that to a whole new level with you, didn't they?" Lynnette laughed and Hermione couldn't help but laugh along with her.

The rest of the walk was filled with light conversation and laughter, but that was short lived as they reached the Arithmancy classroom and Hermione spotted Draco already seated at a table, and her face fell. Lynnette shot Hermione a sympathetic look as the Gryffindor girl begrudgingly walked over to sit with him. It ended up being a rather long hour and a half, the only upside being the pair had no reason to interact at all through the whole class. Lunch hour was a saving grace when it arrived, as much as the school wanted to push inter-house unity and this marriage class, they could not force the students to eat with their partners. Hermione was half tempted to take Isabella for lunch, but with her daily quota of patience already more depleted than she would've like, she concluded that it was best to just leave the baby where she was, and with that she headed down to the Great Hall and was joined shortly by Ginny who had just gotten out of Divination. "I don't understand why you continued with that class. That woman is a fruitcake."

"She has told a few true prophecies. But I do like the subject, it's quite interesting," Ginny answered.

"Not enough to make me stay in that class. And I think we have different definition of interesting," Hermione said as she started putting food on her plate.

And hand reached across her to grab a piece of chicken and neither of the girls had to look to know who that belonged to. "Ron you could at least sit down before you start shoveling food into your mouth," Ginny said to her brother in a very unimpressed tone.

"Shut it," Ron retorted.

"How has your day been Hermione so far?" Harry asked as he sat across from her.

"Absolutely horrid," Hermione said. "I'm beyond tired and have had to be in the direct vicinity of Malfoy for hours. The whole 'sit with your spouse' crock is ridiculous."

"Well then if it's been that bad already, it can't get much worse," Harry reasoned.

Oh, if only he knew.

The hour for lunch passed by much too fast and Hermione and Ginny soon made their way to Defense against the Dark Arts. Naesha, Fay, Harry, Luna and Ron walked in shortly after (where the boys had gone after lunch who knew), followed by a few other students. Just before the class started, in sauntered Blaise and Draco. "For the love of all that is good, holy and pure in this world do I not get a break!" Hermione exclaimed, much louder than she had intended to say that, causing all heads to turn towards her.

The reason for her outburst was not simply the fact that this was the third class in a row that she shared with the Slytherin, it was also a double class, which meant she was stuck with him for two and a half hours straight. Draco glared at her as he walked past, knowing that this meant yet some more time in the presence of the "wife" that he didn't want. "Miss Malfoy..." Professor Flintworm started.

"Granger, Professor, Malfoy-Granger," Hermione corrected, "And I know, take my place beside my partner." _Though I was already seated when he walked in so I don't see why I must move._

She took an annoyed, yet defeated breath and gathered her things walking to where Draco had already taken a seat close to the back of the classroom. "This is stupid," she said when she sat down, "Not to mention annoying. I am certain we are the only pair who has had every class together so far. Let me see your schedule."

"Why?"

"Because I am tired of your arrogant face and being annoyingly surprised when it shows up in my class so just let me see the damn paper Malfoy," she growled.

Caught a bit off guard by the tone Draco pulled out his schedule and placed it in front of her. Hermione looked over the parchment, and then looked it over again, then had to take out her own to compare and finally she groaned, "I really can't get away from you. Every slot is the same, except when I have Care of Magical Creatures, then you have Alchemy."

Of course, Draco had to check for himself, as if Hermione would lie about having that many classes with him… It was going to be a very long year for them both.

After classes finished, Hermione, Ginny, Naesha and Fay all went up to get their children from Professor Rose before heading back down for dinner. All eyes were on them as they entered the Great Hall, mainly because they were the first of the Seventh Years that had their babies with them. All the younger students immediately started whispering and wondering why the girls were either holding carriers or pushing prams. Soon the attention zeroed in on Ginny who had spotted Alex at the Slytherin table and was marching over to him Acacia in hand. "Webster!" she said when she was behind him. He turned slowly, his face showing his annoyance that she was addressing him while he was with his friends. "Your turn," she said handing him the baby girl, then she put her hand on his shoulder and leaned closer to him whispering something in his ear making him pale. "Have fun," she smirked as she stood straight and walked away.

Fay and Naesha laughed while Hermione just smirked, at least until she noticed Draco looking her way. The look on his face was basically telling her not to even dare try and do that to him. Her smirk turned into a glare and she turned away, walking to the Gryffindor table with her friends. As they sat the rest of their classmates entered some with their children the others not, Harry and Ron among them. "Don't your partner's trust you with your children?" Naesha asked with a laugh.

"It's not that, Kara just wanted to take Evelyn. Letting her friends coo over her I guess," Harry said.

"And Hannah just doesn't trust Ron," a voice behind them said. They all turn to see Justin approaching. He held out a bottle to Naesha. "I thought you may need this."

"Did I leave that upstairs?" she asked as she took it.

"Yeah, I went up to get Nicholas, but you had already taken him. The bottle was left in his cot," Justin answered. "I'll take him after dinner. Bye Nicky."

Once Justin was out of earshot the girls turned to Naesha. "It's official, as of this moment your family is the best," Fay said.

"Of course it is, Naesha and Justin actually like each other," Ginny said teasingly.

Naesha playfully shoulder bumped Ginny, hearing the double meaning in the comment.

"Don't act like it's not true," Fay said. "You guys will end up together before this project is even half over."

The girls laughed and continued with their meal. Justin kept his word and came back to take Nicholas from Naesha leaving her to have some time to herself, so she and Ginny went to the library, Ron and Harry to the Gryffindor common room. Unfortunately for Hermione and Fay they still had one more class, Astronomy, which for Hermione, meant another hour of having to work with Draco Malfoy. Luna offered to watch their babies for the hour. At first, they were a bit hesitant, Luna had her own little girl to take care of, and Hermione did recall that she was also partnered with a Slytherin. But then the pair of girls realized that Luna didn't have her daughter with her, meaning that her partner was helping her. Fay conceded and Hermione did also a moment later after being reminded that it would only be for an hour. After expanding the size of Fay's pram, and placing Isabella inside, Hermione and Fay went up to the Astronomy Tower. Draco was already there when they arrived, so Hermione left Fay's side and went to sit at Draco's, dreading the hour that was to follow.

* * *

**Happy New Year everyone! Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, even though it was just a bit of a filler. I'm hoping to get this story on scheduled uploads, but first I'll have to remember everything I had planned for the book before my updated file got lost. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think**


	4. That One Sunday

Weeks went by and soon turned into a month; all the babies looked to be about three months at this point, and it seemed that everybody was making progress of some sort. Peace between the pairings with Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs was no surprise, so the progress was really with the pairs involving Slytherins. Kara and Harry got along well enough, Ginny no longer had to threaten Alex into helping her, mainly because he had been on the receiving end of her curses one too many times. But of all the Slytherin guys, Blaise Zabini was the best one. He was partnered with Luna and at a point every day since the project began, he'd be seen with their daughter Lydia. And it was extremely safe to assume that it was not from coercion, since Luna Lovegood did not do confrontation. It might've even been safe to say that the pair were friends. Draco and Hermione on the other hand, well they were as separate as ever. Hermione tried to avoid fighting with him for the sake of Isabella, but he made it so hard sometimes. And up to that point he still hadn't helped her with Isabella.

The first week or so was the hardest for the Gryffindor girl, as she tried to develop a routine with her daughter. And it didn't help that Isabella had been extremely fussy a few days after the project began, making the nights even longer, and Hermione even more tired. She spent an equal amount of time between the castle and the cottage, after deciding to just spend some nights in the Heads' common room, rather than walk all the way down to her assigned home, with her cranky little girl. It also made Hermione wonder why she and Draco had to live in the little neighborhood with their classmates instead of just staying in the Heads' Dorm, but it also gave her a place to escape from her partner so she wasn't going to question the logic too much. So now, there were two sets of the baby's things to avoid having the elves move them daily, from one place to the next.

Sun streamed through the curtains of the pink room Sunday morning, almost directly into Hermione's eyes. She let out a deep breath before slowly opening her eyes. She looked down at Isabella, who was staring up at her mother with her big grey-blue eyes. This surprised Hermione, because Isabella is hardly ever quiet when she wakes up. There was a _pop_ in the corner of the room making Hermione sit up and look at the elf that had appeared in the room, holding a cup of tea. "Finity made Miss some tea," the elf said.

Hermione had been the last of the Seventh Years to find out that as part of the Marriage and Family class, they were each assigned a House Elf from the school. She learned this after she had heard Draco ordering her around. It didn't surprise her that not only had he taken advantage of the elf the first moment that he could, but that he also didn't mention anything about it. It almost surprised her that her friends never mentioned it either but given her work with S.P.E.W in the past, she couldn't hold it against them.

While she hadn't been the most of ecstatic at the thought of having a personal elf, she had to admit that having Finity to call on occasionally helped a lot. Though it did come only after Hermione told the elf that she wouldn't treat the elf as a slave, she was not going to give her direct orders, only ever ask her to do any task. She wouldn't let the elf do every little menial task if she could do things herself. Hermione also dismissed the elf from any duties to her on the weekends. And as a result of her extreme kindness to the elf, Finity didn't hesitate to do something nice for Hermione without being asked to.

Hermione smiled at the elf. "Thank you, Finity," she said, nodding to the side table as a gesture for Finity to place it there, as she picked up her daughter and placed a kiss on her head. "Do you know how long Isabella has been awake?"

"Not yet an hour Miss Malfoy," Finity answered. "Finity already fed young Miss Malfoy, so that Miss could get more sleep. And Finity could keep watch over the young miss until Miss has her shower, before Finity goes back to help in the kitchen or to Master if he calls."

"That's very thoughtful Finity thank you."

Hermione put Isabella in her cot and then left the room to take a quick shower. Once she was dressed and ready for the day, Hermione dismissed Finity and went downstairs with Isabella. Since she wasn't hungry, the witch spent some well-deserved time cuddling with her baby. Given that Hermione was always so busy all week long, she deemed Sundays – for the most part – a lazy day, so that she could spend as much time solely focused on Isabella as possible. But she remembered she had to do some more planning for the Halloween festivities, since she had no time to work on it the night before. So, begrudgingly Hermione grabbed Isabella's floor mat and a couple toys to entertain her. "Tummy time, baby girl," she said as she placed her daughter on her stomach and charmed the toys to move slowly in front of her.

Hermione sat on the floor next to her daughter after summoning the parchment she needed from upstairs and started to work. She hummed absently to herself as she worked, glancing at Bella every so often, the little girl trying to focus on the toy bird that was flitting around in front of her face. Hermione had only just glanced back at the parchment when she heard Isabella's chiming laugh and looked up to see what had amused her daughter so much in the last five seconds. She was surprised to see that the girl was now laying on her back, trying to reach for the bird that was now flying over her head. "Bella," Hermione gasped, as put down the parchment and leaned toward the girl, "did you just roll? Trying to get mama's attention by showing you're a big girl."

She lifted the girl from the mat, bringing her close to her face and blowing a raspberry on her cheek. And that ended Hermione's work session for the morning. She stood and danced around with Isabella while singing different muggle children's song to the little girl, who happily relished in her mother's attention.

Soon enough, it was early afternoon and Isabella began to fuss signaling that she was ready to nap, so Hermione carried her up to her room. After changing her nappy, Hermione grabbed Isabella's blanket and wrapped the baby in it then went to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. She cuddled the baby close to her chest and sang to her, and in just a few short minutes Isabella was fast asleep. Hermione put the girl in her cot, smiling. It was moments like that, that the witch appreciated how easy her baby was in some ways. Hermione sat on her own bed for just a moment and began to feel her own energy wane, and soon she too, was sound asleep.

A spray of water hit Hermione's face, jolting her from her sleep. As she sputtered, she heard, "Ganger get up! This kid is giving me a headache!"

That's when she heard the crying. She wiped the water from her face as she shot out of the bed going to Isabella's cot. The little brunette had her hands balled up in fists and her eyes squeezed shut as she released a string of shrieks. Hermione lifted her daughter and hugged her kissing the girl's head and whispered assurances that her mother was there. The baby quickly quieted as Hermione carried her downstairs to make a bottle, before taking her back up to her room and Isabella fell back asleep as her mother fed her.

Hermione on the other hand went down into the kitchen once again and got a glass of water but instead of drinking it she went in the living room and stood behind where Draco was sitting. Slowly she lifted the cup, tilting it so that its contents poured out in one steady stream onto his head. In the same movement Draco jumped up and spun so that he was facing her. "What is wrong with you Granger?" he all but growled.

"Not so great when it happens to you, huh?" she snapped back.

"Like I said, she was giving me a headache," he said.

"And I was sleeping, you inconsiderate jerk! Did it ever occur to you to maybe see what the hell was wrong with her yourself!" she said. "Need I remind you that she is your child too, and therefore also your responsibility, yet you haven't made the slightest attempt to help. And the one day that I had to myself – more or less – you decided that it was too hard to take a few minutes and just tend to the child and allow me to catch up on some much-deserved sleep. I truly pity the woman who has the misfortune to be your actual wife and bear your children." Draco looked like he was going to say something, but Hermione never allowed him the chance. "If the last month is how you expect the rest of this project to go, you are sadly mistaken. I was all for gladly letting you fail, but after this overly entitled display of character, I think a better consequence would be to make you do the work.

"And another thing, you need to stop acting like _you_ are the one who drew the short straw in this situation, because you're not. _I_ am the one who has been ridiculed and berated for her blood status by none other than you and you self-righteous friends for the last seven years. Now I must see you every day, morning and night, sit with you in all of my classes, interact with you more than I would care to, and all that has done is make me hate you more than I already did. Your unwanted and overly prominent presence in my life serves as a reminder of the fact that I am now – even if just for school purposes – associated with the family who's house I was tortured in, the family of the witch who did so. I look at you, and I see your deranged aunt who gave me my scar, I am forced to remember how she carved into my arm like a tree and enjoyed it." She paused looking him dead in the eye. "You got partnered with the brightest witch of our age and I got stuck with you. You are the last person who really should be complaining about any of this."

With that said Hermione turned and walked back upstairs to make sure that she hadn't woken the baby. Draco on the other hand was left standing in shock. He'd never heard Hermione speak so loathingly to anyone, including him. Until that moment he had even forgotten what Bellatrix had done to her. He tried to block out all memories of the War. And as much as he may not have liked Hermione, he knew what the witch was capable of and her hating him more than she already had in the past did not bode well for him. So, he did what he always did when he didn't know what to do, he wrote to his mother. As he was writing, Hermione came back downstairs dressed in different clothes. "Isabella's still asleep. I'm going to see Naesha," she said, and she pulled her hair up in a ponytail.

Draco's head snapped towards his partner. "You're leaving her with me?" Draco asked.

"I told you, I'm not doing this by myself," she answered. "I need a break."

"Granger, you can't just leave me with her!"

"I can and I will. Isabella has two parents but only know one. You barely even know your daughter's name, it's time to step up Malfoy."

Before Draco could protest again, she was out of the door. _Stupid Granger leaving me alone with this kid._ Draco wasn't going admit – even to himself – that he was a little nervous about watching Isabella and he hoped that she stayed asleep the whole time Hermione was gone.

Hermione walked through their little neighborhood until she reached the Finch-Fletchley house and knocked on the door. A moment later the door opened, and she was greeted by the Hufflepuff boy that her best friend was partnered with. He informed her that Naesha was upstairs with their son, and she thanked him and headed up. The sound of laughter and splashing water, guided Hermione to the bathroom where both mother and son were laughing, as the baby boy kicked his feet through his bath water. Hermione couldn't help but smile seeing her friend so happy. Because Naesha's back was to her, Nicholas was the one to see her first. He kicked his feet even faster in excitement, causing Hermione to laugh as water splashed into Naesha's face.

"Hey Mia," she said after she turned around to see why Nicholas was so excited. "We didn't have a playdate that I forgot about, did we?"

"No, we didn't, don't worry," Hermione answered. "I just figured I'd come by and see you for a little while."

"You said "I" not "we", who is watching Isabella today?" Naesha asked as she lifted her son out of the water.

"Right now, her father."

Naesha studied her face looking for any hint of a joke, finding none she asked, "How did you manage to convince Draco Malfoy to help you?"

"I didn't give him a choice; he was in the house and Bella was asleep, and I left."

Naesha knew there was more to it than that, so Hermione told her the tale of the day, as the former dried and dressed her son. It amused Naesha to say the least, at the thought of Draco being so caught off guard that he had allowed Hermione to just walk out of the house leaving him with the child. But throughout the last fifteen years of the pair's friendship, Naesha had seen the muggleborn witch's limits tested on many occasions, so she also understood how far, Hermione had to have been pushed to have snapped at him the way she did.

Hermione had to admit that it was nice to get away for a bit, she loved her daughter, but she had needed a break that didn't involve school or Head Girl responsibilities. She chatted with Naesha and Justin, played with Nicholas and just relaxed. However, her maternal instincts did not trust Draco to be alone with the baby for more than an hour, so she headed back sooner than she would've like. And she was right to trust that feeling.

Hermione could hear Isabella crying before she even reached the walkway and she hurried to check on her daughter. She found the girl lying in the living room with Draco who seemed to be unaffected by the sound. She rushed over and picked up the screaming girl. "Hush Bella, it's alright. I'm back, mama's back. Ssh Isa, ssh," she said rocking the girl in her arms. Then she turned to look at Draco. "What did you do?"

When he didn't answer she reached over and smacked him in the back of the head. "What the bloody…."

"I said what did you do?"

"Nothing, she woke up after you left, started screaming and wouldn't stop."

"So, you opted to sit here and just listen to her scream? Why didn't you send someone to tell me!"

"Well it's not like I actually talk to any of your friends."

"Harry is partnered with Kara, Slytherin. Luna with Blaise, Slytherin and Ginny with Alex, another Slytherin. So, unless you don't talk to yours either or anyone in your House then that shouldn't have been a problem. Or better idea, Finity, the elf you love to use for your own personal gain, yeah she could've found me."

Isabella's screams quieted when she recognized the presence of her mother. She buried her head in the witch's shoulder, who responded by placing a kiss on her head. "Did you try feeding her when she woke up?"

"No... I thought you did that before you left."

Hermione sighed. "For Merlin's sake, you do know that babies need to be fed more frequently than we do, right Malfoy? Also, she never finished the bottle I had given her."

She summoned the bottle from upstairs and went to add more formula to it for Isabella, rocking the girl as she did. The she went back in the living room standing in front of Draco. "One screaming incident does not get you off the hook. You're feeding her." Draco looked at her like she was crazy. "Yes, I'm completely serious, let's go arms out."

Reluctantly Draco did as he was instructed, not wanting to piss off the witch again for the day, and she placed the girl in his arms. "Make sure you support her head," she said and then sat back to watch.

Draco took the bottle and fed Isabella. it was an easy task that he shouldn't have been able to mess up, so Hermione shouldn't have been so surprised when he didn't, but she was. "Am I done?" he asked ready to hand the girl back.

"Almost," Hermione said. "Lift her to your shoulder and gently pat her back so she burps."

Draco did as he was told, and after about a minute she let out a quiet burp and also spit up. Hermione held back a chuckle at the look on her partner's face when he realized that he had just been thrown up on.

"Now you're done," she stated as she took the baby back from Draco, also grabbing the blanket that had been laying on the back of the couch and wiping off the kid's mouth. "You've got a little something there, Malfoy. Might want to go clean up."

The look on his face was enough to kill, but she couldn't even bring herself to care. It was a simple sweet bit of revenge for being an absent parent. Hermione carried Isabella back upstairs to clean her up and change her clothes. Hermione put Isabella on the bed and went through the baby's clothes, choosing a simple dress and a light sweater. Once Isabella was changed Hermione decided to take her out for a walk. "I'm taking Bella outside. I started the planning for Halloween, could you do some work on it too?" she asked as she placed her daughter in her pram.

"Don't want to," Draco said.

Hermione glanced up; her eyes narrowed. She realized that she had asked as a civil person hence the response. Standing up straight she crossed her arms. "I wasn't giving you a choice so let me rephrase that. Get off your lazy arse and help plan this because it is both of our responsibility and just like taking care of Isabella, I refuse to do it by myself! The parchment is on the table, goodbye!"

With that said, Hermione opened the front door and pushed Isabella's pram outside, nearly hitting Ginny in the process. "I'm not going to bother asking how that situation is going," she said gesturing to the now closed door. "I see that I also don't need to ask if you want to join me and Acacia for a walk."

"I'm trying Gin, but he's just trying my patience. He's just so infuriating." She stopped and took a breath. "Okay new topic because if I talk about Malfoy any longer, I may explode."

The pair walked away from the "Malfoy" house pushing their respective prams. They strolled through their neighborhood before walking up to the castle. The Gryffindors didn't need to talk, they found comfort in the silence that they rarely got anymore. The crisp October air was soothing to the girls and their daughters, and it allowed Hermione to further relax from the mess of a day that was bound to happen sooner or later. The girls decided to sit at the Quidditch pitch for a while.

"Merlin, I am exhausted," Hermione sighed.

"I feel you," Ginny agreed. "Webster helps, but he's not very helpful."

"I feel like that how I'm going to be feeling about Malfoy very soon." Ginny gave her a very confused look. "I'm no longer letting him sit on his spoiled arse and let him do nothing then complain to me all the time. But let's be honest it's Malfoy, how much help is he really going to be to me? I doubt he's barely been in close proximity of a child before recently, much less had to take care of one."

Hermione looked down at the brunette baby in the pram, who was turning her head trying to see her surroundings. The girl noticed her mom looking at her and immediately started waving her arms and smiling. A cool breeze blew, causing Hermione to shiver a little. She reached in the pram and tucked Isabella's blanket a little tighter to her.

"Hi Hermione," a quiet voice said.

Hermione looked up from Isabella coming face-to-face with a young, caramel skinned girl with dirty-brown hair. "Jaquel! You grew!"

"Why is that the first thing you always say to me? We haven't seen each other in two years!" the girl laughed.

"I'm sorry, but it seems like every time that I see you, you are so much taller than you should be in my mind," Hermione answered, giving the girl a hug. "Look at you finally a Hogwarts student, and a Second Year now, right?"

Jaquel nodded and looked at the pram. "Is this your baby?" she asked, and the older girl nodded. "What's her name?"

"Isabella Marie Malfoy."

"Hate to say it Mia, but you and Draco make one gorgeous kid."

"I'm going to say this once, never again will those words cross your lips, kiddo. Ever. Yes, she is beautiful, but she looks just like me as a baby. Aside from the eyes, Malfoy has no part in her looks. Have you seen your nephew yet though?"

"No," Jaquel answered sadly. "The kids in my year still don't want to associate outside of our house. But from what I hear he's absolutely adorable."

Hermione nodded understandingly, already knowing that Jaquel had been sorted into Slytherin. Jaquel looked over at Ginny and said hi, acknowledging her the first moment that she was able to since she walked over. The Gryffindor girl's respond was short and clipped, it was then that Hermione realized the odd look her friend had been shooting between the two other girls. "Gin, do you know Jaquel Morey?" Hermione asked and watched as Ginny's expression changed slowly. "Naesha's little sister."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and closed it again. "Our new class is about promoting inter-house unity, don't you think that should start with breaking the cycle and not alienating the younger classes?" Hermione asked her.

"Okay, 'Mione I get it. Sorry, Jaquel," Ginny said.

"It's alright, you aren't the only one to do it," Jaquel said with a shrug.

"So why does everyone call you Carrick?" Ginny asked.

"We all had a feeling that I'd be sorted into Slytherin and Mother wrote to McGonagall on my request, asking that they refer to me by her maiden name, just in case. And I don't let Naesha say anything to anyone. I really don't want pity peace. That whole 'we like your sister, so we have to be nice to you' mentality, don't need it. That and I don't really want my sister getting in fights every day for me. And Mia, you know she would."

Hermione couldn't even argue with that. Naesha Morey may be a shy quiet person, but she didn't mess around when it came to her baby sister, she'd throw a hex at anyone who even tried. The trio sat for a few more minutes, before the two mothers decided to call their little excursion to a close. Hermione and Jaquel gave one another a hug and parted ways as the two Gryffindors took their babies back home.


End file.
